Watched The Last Jedi today. I liked it a lot. After the opening scene it's a bit slow with a lot of build-up, but it just about kept me captivated until the stunning series of set pieces we get about halfway through. The previous film stuck closely to a New Hope's formula but this one broke convention in a lot of ways (and I really prefer this approach, even though I get why they played it safe with Force Awakens). Which I guess is in the spirit of Empire Strikes Back which was not greatly well received at the time for its perceived odd story structure. Unlike today where that kind of storytelling is more celebrated.

On top of having neat curveballs throughout the story, the action was good and of course it's Star Wars so everything looked pretty damn cool. I liked the interactions between Kylo Ren and Rey.

I will say there was a lot of silliness in this film, which on reflection I guess isn't too surprising since it's Disney and it was to appeal to kids, but it didn't detract from the film too much for me. Some of it did lend the film charm, some of it I might be less forgiving about when I watch the film again. But anyway, I really enjoyed the film regardless.

Also one who has seen The Last Jedi. I can see why reviews were saying its the film to beat Empire. It not be a copy-paste of Empire, but it twisted both V and VI into a great film that in many ways provided some unexpected scenes. They're definitely bringing the full might of the Force into play with this one, and the last of this trilogy is certainly sure to give us a duel of the fates. Some great musical call-backs as well.

For the most part I thought that aside from the inherited aspects of Abram's film the plot felt fairly original with the exception of two or three scenes which felt like they were lifted from episodes V and VI (mainly the training sequence, the scene in Snope's room and the final battle on an icy planet) but I did find much of the film rather compelling and funny. My only complaints is that the idea of either Rey or Kylo Ren turning to the other side of the force failed to really materialise beyond being a way to kill Snope (and he died way too soon, we still don't know a lot about him when they decided to kill him off) and the film dragged on way too long towards the end. There were several instances where it felt like it would be the finale and then it just cut to more film.

Overall I enjoyed the film. I don't think it was the best Star Wars film ever made but it was still a solid film overall.

watched the Last Jedi last night with a few good friendd
am very confused as to what to feel about it tho
lot of it was gooseberry fool stupid but there was a lot of good points
what follows is a bunch of scattered ramblings on the film

the mid section dragged a fair bit, not helped by the Asian just not being very interesting
Kylo Ren's character arc is the strongest part of the film, followed by Rey, Finn and Poe
I liked when things started going to eton mess very much, but it's almost as if they didnt go far enough which left me feeling kind of frustrated with the ending, which still felt a bit too typical almost
Mark Hamill's performance was a highlight honestly, I think he's surpassed his performance in the originals (not saying much, but still). The other main characters performance wise were as strong as I expected them to be so nothing to complain about there
The overall theme of getting rid of the old to make way for the new was very interesting and I liked it and the way it was handled over the film

Thanks to yung Kriken for the sig and avatar (asuka best girl)MALDeviantart (trying to be more active nowadays, views are always appreciated) UPDATED 21/06/17

Also saw TLJ today and thought it was good, though definitely not without significant faults.

For a start nothing really happens in the film other than a bit of character development for Kylo + Rey.
Finn's story was Raiders of the Lost Ark tiers of completely pointless. All that he actually managed to achieve in the entire film was reveal the cloaked ships.
Asian girl was a bit boring, but had some fun scenes.
Some of the comedy parts were really badly placed imo. Particularly the one where Rey cuts through the rock with Luke's old lightsaber and he walks off in what seems to be a bit of a huff.
Also christ that Leia scene where she's adrift in space. She uses the force to get back to the spaceship, then painfully disregards physics as she is sucked into the ship instead of sucking everyone else out when the door is opened (like the previous scene). After all of that she then proceeds to spend the rest of the film lying on her back doing bugger all.